WinXP Service Pack 2 blocking ends on April 12

Microsoft will turn of the WinXP SP2 blocking feature on April 12. This means that the Service Pack will be automatically installed on desktop PCs in businesses that used the tool to prevent to automatic installation of Service Pack 2.

In its April 4 report on business adoption of Windows XP SP2, AssetMetrix warned that a surge of SP2 downloads on April 12 could stress IT help desks and cause "productivity brownouts" among employees. But a Microsoft spokesman downplayed that scenario, saying fewer than 1% of Microsoft's enterprise customers ever used the blocking tool anyway. Small businesses and consumers will be unaffected by the change, he says, because the blocking tool was not available to them.